“That’s the difference in the game,” Panthers head coach Carroll Yager said. “We missed some easy shots around the basket, probably four or five at least, right there at the basket … that could have been a difference too. Big thing is we have to handle the ball a bit better. We’re going to keep working on things to do that.”

The Carroll County Lady Panthers honored all-time scoring leader Whitney Ballinger Saturday night by retiring her jersey in front of the home crowd. Unfortunately, the Lady Panthers (4-11) weren’t able to use Ballinger’s scoring ability against the visiting Gallatin County Lady Wildcats (12-4), falling 63-32.

Up seven points with a little more than four minutes to go, the Carroll County Panthers (6-7) beat themselves down the stretch, turning the ball over and the win to the visiting Henry County Wildcats (9-6), 64-57 on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Down 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter, things looked bleak for the Carroll County Lady Panthers. The team had played well on defense, forcing Henry County to turn the ball over 24 times in the game, but continued to struggle on their shooting, hitting just 5-36 shots for 14 percent from the field through three quarters.

But just when it seemed like the Lady Wildcats (3-10) had the game in hand, the Lady Panthers (4-10) started hitting shots. Carroll went on a 17-2 run in the fourth to pull out a 27-22 come-from-behind win on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

At the start of each legislative session in even-numbered years, the governor appears before the General Assembly twice: First, to give the State of the Commonwealth address and then, later in the month, to present a two-year budget proposal.

Given the tough economy the country has weathered during the last several years, it wasn’t much of a surprise when Gov. Steve Beshear spent much of his first speech last week talking about the second one he will give on Jan. 17.

The first week of the 2012 Session was a combination of the ceremonial and the new. We gaveled in last Tuesday with the traditional establishment of the membership of the Senate and approval of our chamber’s rules. More than 200 bills have already been filed in the General Assembly and will start making their way through the committee process beginning in earnest next week.

Gov. Steve Beshear Monday joined Congressman Ben Chandler, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and others at the United Way of the Bluegrass to launch his annual campaign to urge eligible Kentuckians to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable federal tax credit for low- and middle-income working individuals and families.

“I wanted to start with a few of these complaints to begin the process of cleaning up the delinquent tax rolls,” he said. “This is just the beginning, and more delinquent taxpayers will be contacted in the future.”